"The most alarming part, Sengoku," Vice Admiral Tsuru stated, her voice grim, cutting straight to the heart of the matter, "is the apparent scale of production. Based on our surveillance, every single combatant in the Whitebeard Kaizokudan (Pirates) carries a pouch of these... things."
The weight of her words settled heavily in the Fleet Admiral's office. Mass distribution? An item that instantly healed and restored stamina? The strategic implications were horrifying.
"We must ascertain what this is!" Sengoku slammed his fist onto the desk, the sound echoing his resolve. THUMP! "Issue the order immediately! All Kaigun (Marine) forces stationed near Whitebeard territories are to engage! Capture this medicine at any cost, understand? No price is too high!" His command was absolute, his eyes blazing with strategic fire.
Tsuru, understanding the profound value of this discovery, didn't flinch at the unusually aggressive order. She simply gave a sharp nod. This was too critical for hesitation. She turned and walked purposefully out of the office, intending to oversee the operation personally. The game board of the New World had just been violently shaken.
Meanwhile, under the sweltering sun of the New World, in the kingdom of Dressrosa…
Donquixote Doflamingo, the Heavenly Yaksha, one of the Oka Shichibukai (Seven Warlords of the Sea), lounged high above the Corrida Colosseum, a predatory smirk playing on his lips as he watched gladiators below tear each other apart for the crowd's amusement. Fuffuffuffuffu!
"Doffy, why do you like watching this stuff?" Sugar, perched beside him like a doll, asked innocently, popping grapes into her mouth with delicate fingers. Plink. Plink.
"Hoh? Like it?" Doflamingo stretched lazily, propping his head on his hand as he gazed up at the cloudless sky. "It's not about liking it, Sugar. It's simply... something to do. This 'peace'... it's so dreadfully boring!" A yawn escaped his lips. Fuffuffu...
Suddenly, the doors to their viewing box burst open. SLAM!
"Doffy! Doffy! We've got trouble! Nee, nee, trouble!" Trebol, one of the top executives of the Donquixote Family, came rushing in, thick mucus trailing from his perpetually runny nose. Sniffle!
"Oh? What is it this time, Trebol?" Doflamingo asked, shifting position languidly, not even bothering to look. He was used to Trebol's constant state of agitation; the man would probably report a difficult bowel movement with the same level of frantic urgency.
"It's... It's from the Yonko (Emperor) Kaido! Nee! They're contacting us!" Trebol stammered, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "They... they want us to send Caesar over to them!"
"What?!"
That jolted Doflamingo upright, his usual smirk vanishing, replaced by a sharp frown. His sunglasses glinted dangerously. "Kaido wants Caesar? Why?"
"They didn't say why! Nee! Just that they need to 'borrow' him for a while! They promised to send him back!" Trebol wailed, looking genuinely distressed.
Tch. Doflamingo's mind raced. Borrow Caesar? Could they be planning to cut us out? Produce the SMILEs themselves? No... that doesn't make sense. We barely make a profit selling the artificial Akuma no Mi (Devil Fruits) to them; it's mostly just a transport fee and maintaining the alliance. Doesn't King understand that? Or... is this about something else entirely?
"Doffy, maybe... maybe you should ask King-san directly? Nee?" Trebol suggested nervously.
"Hmph." Doflamingo stood abruptly, his pink feather coat swirling around him. "Fine. Let's go to the office. Patch me through to King." He strode out, Sugar and Trebol scrambling to keep up.
Back in Doflamingo's opulent office…
He lounged in his chair, legs crossed, dialing King's Den Den Mushi number with a casual flick of his finger. Purupurupuru... Katcha.
Before Doflamingo could even utter his trademark laugh, King's cold, impassive voice came through the receiver. "This is an order directly from Kaido-sama. It would be... unwise... to incur his displeasure."
Doflamingo's eyebrow twitched. Straight to threats, eh? Fuffuffu...
"However," King continued, offering a sliver of appeasement, "rest assured, Doflamingo. This has nothing to do with your SMILE operation. You have my word on that." King, despite his loyalty to Kaido, wasn't foolish; he understood the value of maintaining their arrangement with Doflamingo. A carrot and a stick, as it were.
Seeing no room for negotiation, Doflamingo's grin tightened into something sharp and unpleasant. So, they need Caesar for something else... Interesting. He hung up with a curt click. Katcha.
"Trebol," Doflamingo commanded, slamming his hand down on the desk, veins pulsing on his forehead. BAM! "Start digging! Secretly! Find out why Kaido suddenly needs Caesar Clown! Use all our underworld contacts! And stall King for as long as possible! Nee!" Fuffuffuffuffu! Secrets in the New World... how delightful!
Back at Marineford…
Under Vice Admiral Tsuru's meticulous command, and thanks to the valiant efforts (and likely considerable collateral damage) of a dedicated Rear Admiral and their forces, the Kaigun (Marines) had finally succeeded. In a fierce skirmish, they'd managed to capture a lone Whitebeard Kaizokudan (Pirate) combatant. And more importantly, they had obtained what they sought: a pouch filled with the miraculous green medicine.
Now, back in Sengoku's office, six pairs of high-ranking eyes stared intently at the small cloth bag lying innocently on the polished desk.
"Hoh hoh! So this is it, Sengoku?" Garp asked, scratching his head curiously, peering at the beans. "The stuff that gets those Whitebeard fellas back on their feet instantly?"
"Indeed," Sengoku confirmed, nodding gravely. "According to the captured pirate, they call it... 'Senzu'." He examined one of the beans himself. It still looked remarkably like a common pea. What is the secret?
The three Admirals – Aokiji (Kuzan), Kizaru (Borsalino), and Akainu (Sakazuki) – observed the beans with varying degrees of interest and intensity.
"Ara ara... So, Fleet Admiral," Aokiji drawled lazily, hands tucked in his pockets, "what exactly is this stuff?"
"Watch this," Sengoku said, activating the Visual Den Den Mushi again, replaying the recording Tsuru had brought earlier.
As they watched the Whitebeard pirates repeatedly recover from devastating blows, Aokiji's lazy demeanor sharpened slightly. "Maa... that's quite terrifying, isn't it?" he murmured. Watching those pirates pop back up like invincible cockroaches... it was unnerving.
Even Akainu, whose stern expression rarely wavered and who had witnessed Kaido's own monstrous resilience firsthand, had to concede internally. In terms of sheer recovery speed... Kaido cannot compare to this. The implications for prolonged battles were severe. This wasn't just healing; it was practically negating the concept of attrition.
"The captured pirate revealed," Tsuru added, reading from the interrogation report, "that this 'Senzu' was invented by a new ship doctor they recruited. Apparently, there's a large-scale factory operating non-stop aboard the Moby Dick, dedicated solely to producing this medicine."
"A new doctor?" Akainu growled, his brow furrowed. "Who? Someone from the World Government's science division? A defector?"
"No," Tsuru replied, shaking her head. "We have a name – 'Alex'. I've cross-referenced every World Government and Kaigun (Marine) database. There is no record of anyone by that name with such abilities. It's as if... he appeared out of thin air."
"Appeared out of thin air? Don't be dramatic, Tsuru-chan!" Garp laughed dismissively, waving his hand. "Bwahahaha! This world has countless islands! Probably just some hidden genius from a tiny village we've never heard of!"
"Regardless of his origin," Sengoku interjected, his gaze hardening, "we must acquire this technology, or at the very least, neutralize its advantage. This task..." His eyes swept over the three Admirals, landing on the one leaning casually against the wall, seemingly half-asleep. "...will fall to you."
"Kizaru Borsalino!"
Kizaru slowly straightened up, pushing out his lower lip in his characteristic pout. "Ooh? Fleet Admiral Sengoku... why entrust such a veeery important and troublesome mission... to me?" His voice dripped with feigned reluctance, though his eyes glinted slightly behind his sunglasses.
Sengoku simply adjusted his own glasses. "Because, Kizaru," he stated plainly, "you command the Kaigun (Marine) Science Unit. This falls squarely within your purview."